


More than this 2 - More than friends

by xMidnightsLullaby



Series: More than.... [2]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Love, M/M, OCs - Freeform, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-20 01:32:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15523125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xMidnightsLullaby/pseuds/xMidnightsLullaby
Summary: This story is set a few weeks after "More than this". After Austin's confession, his relationship to Mika has changed somehow. But there are still a lot of things to talk about.  | OCs | Mika & Austin | SchornEE Headcanon





	1. Love Maze

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Mika & Austin](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/402345) by SchornEE. 



“Sorry I’m late again. I hope you haven’t been waiting too long”, Mika panted. Obviously, he had been hurrying to be on time. Austin smiled. A few weeks have passed since he had confessed to his best friend, afraid that this might have an impact on their friendship. And well…it has had an impact. But it had been completely different from what the half-Thai, half-Korean boy had expected. It had probably been the best thing that could have happened to their relationship. The Russian Ice Prince hadn’t been surprised nor had he turned him down, but he returned his feelings. Well, technically he wasn’t in love with him, but he liked him, a lot, and being liked a lot by Mika was more than Austin would have hoped for. 

“Hey”, Mika smiled when he reached his friend and pulled him into a hug. Burying his nose into Austin’s hair, he let out a sigh. “I’ve missed you.” – “We saw each other four days ago”, Austin answered and wrapped his arms tightly around his friend. “So what? Training has been exhausting lately and I just wanted to lay in bed and cuddle with you, but we both have been busy, so I missed you.” The half-Thai turned bright red in an instant. No matter how long he knew the Russian, the straightness and honesty he undeniably had inherited from his father still caught him off guard from time to time. Smiling, he pulled Mika even closer and whispered “I missed you, too.”

A cough brought them back to present. “Um… If you want some time on your own, you could just tell us.” Slightly embarrassed Austin let go of Mika who turned towards his childhood friend and scratched his neck. “Sorry guys. I’m here now, so let’s go.” As much as Austin loved their monthly dinner-date with Peri and Valentina, right now, he wished that they would leave them alone. Soon the World Championship would start and Mika’s coach, Yuri Plisetsky, left him hardly any time to regenerate. Most days, the young Russian would get up, train and fall right back into bed as soon as he came home again. These small times when he was free and had enough energy to go out were rare and the half-Korean would have loved to spent it alone with the Ice Prince. However, the half-Thai understood that he wasn’t his only friend. Val and Peri were an important part of Mika’s life as well. At least, he was able to see him once this week. 

Completely immersed in thoughts, Austin noted that someone was poking his face. When he turned to his side, Valentina was grinning broadly. He hadn’t even noticed that she was walking next to him. “Something has changed between you two, hasn’t it?”, she asked. “What?” The half-Thai was confused. Did she notice anything? But their behaviour towards each other hasn’t changed much, at least, not when other people were around. Did Mika tell her? “I’m not blind. I can see that you look at him differently and you smile the whole time when he’s with you. Also, you have this sparkle in your eyes when you look at each other. It’s pretty obvious that you like him.” Austin turned down his head, because he could feel an embarrassing heat filling him up. Was he so easy to read? “He too, by the way.” – “He… what?” Valentina grinned even broader. “He likes you too, stupid.” – “How do you know?”  
He could beat himself for asking such a thing. Whenever it came to Mika, he became insecure like a schoolgirl dating her first crush. With just the difference that they weren’t dating. A small fact that still bothered him. What would happen if the Russian won’t return his feelings? Could they be just usual friends again? How much would it hurt to eventually be like everyone else again? Just these small thoughts made his heart ache incredibly. “Don’t worry” Valentina disrupted his thoughts again and placed her hand on his shoulder. “He likes you. More than you might think. He flourishes when he’s with you. He tries to be close to you every second. And most important, he has the same sparkle in his eyes as you do. He is watching your every movement and he always looks so happy. I have never seen him like that.” A warm and fluffy feeling filled Austin’s body and his heart was beating fast against his chest. Valentina was right, maybe he should just stop worrying and enjoy what was happening between them. 

 

All in all, it had been a fun evening. Even though Austin would have loved to spent it alone with Mika laying on his bed, watching movies or listening to music, he must admit that having dinner with Peri and Val was always great. Hearing people talk about something else than skating was so refreshing and showed them, that there was a world outside the rink, although it might not feel like this from time to time. He turned his gaze towards Mika who was sitting next to him. The whole evening, he had been searching for Austin’s hand or caressing his thighs. Just those little gestures showed the half-Korean that his doubts were ungrounded. The Ice Prince also wanted to be close to him, wanted to feel his warmth, to hold his hand the whole time. A smile appeared on Austin’s face as he watched Mika arguing with Peri who’s turn it was to pay. From the corner of his eye, he could see Valentina smirked again and when he turned towards her, she winked. Instantly, his face turned bright red again. At least he could try to be less obvious. But he couldn’t keep his feelings inside. Preferably, he would tell the whole world that he was in love with Mika and that the Russian liked him back.  
“Are you alright?”, Mika asked him and took his hand. Although Austin thought that this wasn’t even possible, his face turned even redder. “Yes, yes… I just…” He needed to hide somewhere to calm down, just for a second. “I just need to go to the restroom”, he stumbled and hurried towards the toilets. After he closed the door behind him, he walked towards the sink and threw some cold water in his face. ‘You need to stop acting like a schoolgirl!’, he scolded himself. However, he knew that this was impossible. Whenever Mika was close to him, his heart started beating at double speed and his legs became shaky. He was so in love with this guy, there was no use to deny it. He just hoped that someday his friend would feel like this, too.

Returning to their table, he heard that Mika was talking to Peri and the way his voice sounded made him stop. He didn’t get the conversation completely, but it was like the Ice Prince was worried about something. “…so insecure, sometimes I have no idea what to do…” – then Peri seemed to say something, but Austin didn’t understand what. Then skater answered “Of course! More than I ever thought I would.” Peri’s laughter filled the whole room. “Then you probably should show him more.” – “But how?” – “Oh gosh, are you that stupid? It’s not like it’s the first time you were dating someone.” – “I was five at that time! And strictly speaking we aren’t dating.” Mika’s last sentence pierced Austin’s heart. Yeah, they weren’t dating, but they weren’t friends either. What exactly were they? The half-Thai was so overwhelmed by the sadness that broke out inside of him that he nearly failed to listen to the rest of the conversation. But at Peri’s last words, he pricked up his ears “But you want to?” Maybe there was still hope.  
“Obviously!” cried Mika leaving no doubts in Austin. Instantly, his heart was crashing his chest by beating like he ran a marathon and his legs started shaking so hard that he was hardly able to stand on his own feet. “Then why don’t you start, idiot. Everyone can see from a miles’ distance that this moron is head over heels for you.” – “But how should we…?” – “Do you live under a stone? Why don’t you…” Austin wanted to go on listening in when two thin tanned arms wrapped around his shoulder and a gently but also teasing voice whispered in his ear: “Didn’t your fathers tell you that you don’t listen secretly to other people’s conversations?” – “I…um…” The half-Thai was embarrassed to be caught eavesdropping. He knew it was impolite, but he couldn’t stop himself. “No need to justify”, Valentina smiled and shoved him back to the others. When Mika saw him, his face brightened up which left a warm feeling inside Austin. “Let’s go, guys. I have already paid.”, he said. “I thought it was Peri’s turn”, Val wondered. “Oh, just shut up”, the half-Kazakh grunted. 

They were walking through the dark streets of Saint Petersburg that were only illuminated by some street lights. While Valentina and Peri were walking in the front, quarrelling like usual, Mika and Austin walked in small distance behind them. As soon as they had left the restaurant, the Ice Prince had taken his hand and intertwined their fingers. He had turned his head towards his friend as like to ask for permission, but Austin had only smiled at him and squeezed his hand. Now, they were walking in silence, enjoying each other’s company.  
When they reached the great crossroad that separated their homes, Peri turned around and asked Mika “Should I give you a ride?” Austin hold his breath. He didn’t want to part so soon. He wanted to spent more time with Mika. However, the latter shook his head and turned towards the half-Korean. “No, thanks. I guess I’ll be sending Austin home today.” If the skater would have looked ahead, he would have seen Valentina smirking again and Peri rolling his eyes. “Alright. Then, good night!” – “Good night!” They waved goodbye and turned right. From the distance Austin still heard Peri’s voice that had this flirty undertone he always used to irritate Valentina. “Shall I drive you home, princess?” – “As if I would mount that infernal machine of yours….” If someone didn’t know them, one might have assumed that there was something going on between them. But Austin knew better. They loved to argue with each other, but there would never be more than the good friendship they were hiding behind their fights. 

“I wonder if they will ever get tired of that”, Mika laughed. “I guess not.”, Austin smiled, “I bet they are too proud to admit that they are friends and actually care for each other. But you’ve known them for a longer time than I do.” – “You are right. This has been going on between them since they could talk. I bet it’s their parents influence. As far as papa told me, Yuri and Mila had been like this as well when they were both training here. Sometimes they still get up in meaningless arguments. But dad always says that it was even worse when they were younger and that Otabek has had a good influence on Yuri.” – “They’ve met around the same time as your parents, didn’t they? Must be nice to find your true love so early in life.” – “Yeah they met during the first year that papa was coaching dad. But it took quite some time for them to admit that there was more between them. That’s at least what I assumed from what I heard.” 

For quite a while they were again walking in a relaxed and soothing silence. Austin wished that they would never reach his apartment. He didn’t want to let Mika go. He could feel that he was enjoying this as well. He looked a lot more energised and eased than when they met earlier this evening. Letting him go would mean sending him back to his stressful daily circle of training and even more training. But as much as he wished, they finally reached the building that his apartment was in. Standing in front of each other, neither of them wanted to say goodbye. “Well…” The half-Thai had the feeling that Mika wanted to say something, but he didn’t seem to find the right words. “Then… Have a good night, Austin.” He pulled the half-Thai closer and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. The skater couldn’t help, but blush. “You too, Mika.” Then, the latter turned around and walked away, his hands in pockets and his head hanging down in thoughts. Austin searched for his keys and was already putting them in the lock, when he heard Mika call for him. “Austin! Do you want to go out with me this weekend? Just the two of us?” Forgetting how to breath for a second, the half-Korean was looking at his friend in shock. “You mean…like a date?” Again, such a stupid question. Why couldn’t he stop… Mika came back to him and took his face into his hands. “Yeah, a date. We could have dinner in a nice restaurant or watch a movie together, if you like.” Their eyes met and Austin was struggling to build a solid sentence in his head. “Yes, I’d love to.” – “Then it’s set.”, Mika smiled and suddenly, he pulled his friend’s face even closer. Their lips met and Austin had a hard time returning the kiss, because he was too surprised. Sadly, the Russian drew back, but the sparkle that he could see in his eyes made up for this.  
When Austin fell into his bed, he thought that the smile that was still on his face would stay there forever. He had a date – with Mika. Although he was nervous, he had never longed for the weekend so much as he did now.


	2. Begin

On Saturday, Austin woke up early. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at his alarm clock. It was six in the morning. He had two more hours until he had to get up and head to training. With a sigh, he fell back into the pillows. Even though he tried to restrain himself, he felt like a child on Christmas Eve. With the difference that he would have to wait for his present until evening. The half-Thai had been laying awake for hours last night, because his mind had been full with Mika. They would be having a date. This evening. Just thinking about it made him excited. His friend had proposed a bunch of things that they could be doing tonight, but honestly, Austin didn’t mind at all. It wasn’t important what they were doing and where, the only thing that mattered was that they were spending time together. 

When he reached the rink, Austin knew that he could have stayed at home as well. He was too nervous, too excited that there was no chance he would be able to concentrate on his jumps. After he fell down for the fourth time, he decided to end his training for the day after half an hour and took a seat in the auditorium. While watching the other skaters dance, he remembered when he first met Mika. It had been his first time to visit Russia. He had been three at that time. Flying had been nothing new to him as he was used to visit his grandparents in Thailand. But this flight had been twice as long and it was his first time to visit Europe. The whole time he had been looking out of the window eager to see the new country. However, he had fallen asleep and his parents had woken him up just in time to get the luggage and pass the border. 

He still had been drowsy when they had left the airport, so his father had been carrying him. As soon as they had stepped out of the door, his dad had started running and threw himself into a guy’s arms. Next to the black-haired man that was hugged to death by his dad, a tall, grey-haired man was standing. It had taken quite some time, but when his father approached that man, Austin had recognized him as the great Viktor Nikiforov. His father had put him down gently to hug Viktor. While the adults had been busy greeting each other, Austin, nervous, because of so many new people, had been hiding behind dad’s legs. Then suddenly, someone had tapped him on the shoulder. Austin had turned around and looked into two great grey-blueish eyes that examined him curiously. The boy that had been standing in front of him, was approximately two or three years older than him and had dark black hair.   
When Austin had been a child, he had been very nervous and shy when he met new people, so he had tried to hide himself even more and buried his face in his dad’s trousers. Cautious little steps had approach him and a calm and reassuring voice had whispered: “You don’t have to be afraid.” When he had turned his head back up again he was facing a happy and encouraging smile by the most beautiful person he ever met. “Hey. I’m Mika. Let’s be friends.”

 

Austin smiled when he remembered these two weeks in Saint Petersburg. It hadn’t been taking a lot of time and the two of them had been inseparable. He had been close to tears when they had to say goodbye at the airport, but Mika had just pulled him into a hug and said: “Don’t be sad. We will see each other soon. I promise!” The next time they saw each other again had been more than half a year later, but Mika and Austin had been in touch the whole time. Not even a week after they had been back to Seoul, a postcard with a self-painted picture of him and Mika on the ice was in the Mailbox. From this day on, both boys been exchanging pictures, photos and later letters frequently. When they had been old enough, they had been calling each other every now and then until they both had their first mobile phone. The half-Thai chuckled. How easy and carefree they had been. 

“At first, I was worried about you, but when I see you grinning like that, it seems that everything is alright.” A soft female voice interrupted his thoughts. Austin shook his head and examined the person that was standing in front of him. “That’s cute, Jenna. But everything’s fine. I just can’t concentrate today.” – “Yeah, I noted that your head is quite busy lately. I just hope that you will be able to handle this or it will affect your skating.” She turned around to return to the rink, when she stopped looking back at him and smiled. “At least, it’s nice to know that not all of you guys are idiots.”

After Austin returned home, he took a long hot shower and afterwards let himself fell into his bed again. He still had five hours left until he had to take another shower, get himself dressed and then he would still be ready more than half an hour before Mika would pick him up. The Ice Prince had decided to go to a restaurant, but he didn’t want to tell him which one. Slowly, the half-Thai’s nervousness calmed down. He was still super excited, but the anxiety and the concern inside him died down the longer he thought about Mika and how long they had known each other, what they had gone through. Everything would be alright, they had been eating out together quite often, so why would this one be so different from the last times. Yes, there were feelings involved now, but they were still the same, still Mika and Austin. So, what should go wrong? Smiling in pleasant anticipation, the skater closed his eyes. Yeah, everything would be alright. 

A loud shrilling sound made him awake with a start. He looked at his alarm again. It was seven o’clock straight. He had been sleeping the whole time and now it was time for Mika to pick him up. However, the Ice Prince was never on time, so he might have 10 or 15 minutes left to get ready. With a beating heart and wondering who would ring his bell at this time of the day, he hurried to the door and opened it. The sight that welcomed him on the other side let him forget how to breathe. Mika was wearing a dark blue shirt that let his blue-grey eyes shine even brighter and he had left the first buttons open. Over this he wore a fashionable dark, black coat and corresponding trousers. Austin was sure Mika had never looked so good. The Russian smiled at him and pulled him into his arms. Burying his nose in the half-Korean’s hair, he whispered “Hey”. 

“Hey”, Austin answered and his voice was shaking more than he wanted. Seeing his friend looking so perfect, his nervousness came back in an instant. “You are here so early, I… I’m not ready yet. I still need to take a shower and…” – “You don’t need to shower. You smell so good like this.” An embarrassing heat filled Austin’s head and he knew that he was red like a tomato. “But… at least, let me change.” – “Hm… alright” the Russian mumbled and hesitantly let go of him. Not knowing where to look, the brown-eyed boy let his friend step in and closed the door behind him. “Please make yourself comfortable. I’ll hurry.”

When he reached his room, Austin closed the door and took a deep breath in to calm himself. ‘Everything is fine. It’s just Mika.’, he thought. ‘Yeah, just Mika. Just a super-handsome, hot-looking Mika which is actually just waiting for you to get dressed.’ Sometimes his inner voice wasn’t helpful at all. Right now, he wished he would have thought about what to wear earlier. A bit overchallenged he just grabbed a ruby-coloured shirt and a grey waistcoat with it. In addition, he chose a grey pair of jeans to wear with it. As fast as he could, he changed and only a few minutes later he returned to his living room. The Ice Prince was sitting on the couch looking at his phone, but when he heard Austin come in, he looked up. His eyes became bigger for a second and he didn’t move and inch. The half-Korean felt a bit uncomfortable being stared at like that, but then, Mika got up, walked closer to him and caressed his cheek with his hand. Taking another look up and down he whispered “You look amazing.” – “T-thanks…you, too.”

On their way to the restaurant Mika held his hand the whole time since they had left the apartment. Not even in the Metro he had let go of him. They had talked about casual things, how training has been like and Peri’s and Valentina’s latest cause of fight. His friend’s warm fingers intertwined with his own were in a perfect contrast to the cold air that surrounded them.   
After they left he subway, they had to walk for a bit until Mika finally stopped before an expensive looking Thai restaurant. “You’ve been in Russia for such a long time now, I thought you might miss the food your dad always made you. I was asking around a bit and this restaurant seems to be quite popular. Dad also told me that they went here years ago with your parents and that your father loved the “Gaeng Kua Sapparot” here. The chef hasn’t changed for years so I guess it will still be pretty good.” Austin was again left speechless. He was so touched by the fact that Mika had put so much thought into this. Without any idea what to say he just looked at the Ice Prince who was smiling at him. “Come on. Let’s go inside.”

The Russian had been right, the food was amazing. The fried rice noodles with chicken he had chosen tasted so much like home that he had to pull himself together not to cry and also Mika seemed to be happy with his fillet of beef in oyster sauce. Now, they were finishing their drinks and just enjoyed being together. Luckily, Austin had been right and it hadn’t been awkward at all. They had been talking most of the time and even if they didn’t the silence between them had been warm and fluffy. 

“Tell me, why have you been looking so sleepy when you opened the door? Did you take a little afternoon nap?”, Mika laughed. “Actually, I fell asleep right after training. I didn’t plan to, so I didn’t set an alarm and you ringing woke me up.” Austin answered. A concerned expression built on the Ice Prince’s face. “Was training so hard today? Or are you getting sick? You should take more care of yourself.” – “No, no. To be honest, I even finished early today. I couldn’t concentrate at all and I slept for only five hours. I was so nervous and excited about this evening, I couldn’t fall asleep.” Embarrassed he turned his head down and looked out of the window to his right, however, Mika reaching out for his hand and squeezing it tightly made him look back into the Russian’s eyes. He was looking so determined, but sweet and loving at the same time. And if Austin was right, a little reddish shimmer formed on Mika’s cheeks. “I’m glad to hear that you were nervous, because I have been, too. But there is no need to. There is nothing you have to worry about.” 

Mika had insisted on walking him home, even though it was already pretty late and it was a great detour. But Austin didn’t want to complain. He was happy to be able to spent more time with him. They were walking in a comfortable silence again holding hands like it was the most usual thing to do, when something came to the half-Thais mind. “How did you manage to be on time today? You are always late. When the bell rang, I was sure it had to be someone else.” Turning his gaze to Mika he saw how his friend turned red and sketched his neck. “Ehm…Actually…I’ve been waiting in front of your door for about twenty minutes. I wanted to make sure I was on time at least today.” The urge to pull him closer to kiss him overcame Austin without a warning. But he had to restrain himself. He wasn’t sure if Mika was ok with kissing in public. So, to satisfy his need at least a little bit, he raised their intertwined hands and places a kiss on the back of Mika’s hand. Then he looked into his friend’s eyes again. It seemed like this time it had been his turn to catch his friend off guard, because he looked a little shocked, but just seconds later, his expression softened and a shy smile formed on his face. 

They both turned back to the front and they continued their walk only that they were walking even closer to each other, so Austin could feel Mika’s warm right through his jacket. When they reached the building, the Ice Prince insisted on accompanying him upstairs to make sure he reached his apartment safe and sound. No matter how stupid that sounded, the half-Korean was happy, because that meant that his friends didn’t want to end this evening, too. Every step they took, Austin’s feet became heavier and he wished the stairs would never end. But sadly, they reached his floor. He unlocked the door and standing in the doorframe he turned towards Mika again. “Thank you for tonight. It was…” How should he describe how he felt about their date? Amazing? Perfect? Better than he had imagined? But Mika seemed to understand without hearing a word, because he was bending down so they were face to face and whispered “Yeah, it was.” Looking deep into each other’s eyes, their faces got closer and closer until Austin could stand the suspense anymore and overcame the last centimetres. He let out a sigh when Mika returned the kiss passionately and placed his hands on the half-Korean’s hips. The latter wrapped his arms around the Russian’s neck. 

He couldn’t get enough of Mika’s kisses and he wished they could do this whenever they wanted to. The tingling and warm feeling that spread over his whole body made his feet wobbly, but he didn’t want to stop and it seemed that the Ice Prince felt the same way, because after they had to separate to catch their breaths, he pulled him close again and kissed him even more passionately.   
Austin had no idea how long they were standing in the doorframe when their kisses became less and less intense and they finally separated. Mika’s eyes were shining like stars and he couldn’t stop smiling. Placing another last kiss on his forehead, he whispered “Good night.” The brown-eyed boy was still panting heavily, so his “Good night” was nothing more than a breeze. The Ice Prince smiled at him one last time and then turned around to make his way home. Austin followed him with his eyes until he left the stairways. Closing the door behind him, he had to sit down on the floor, because his legs were still shaking so much and his heart was beating like hell. He was so undeniably, hopelessly in love with Mika there was no chance he could ever let go off him.


	3. Spring Day

Three weeks have passed since their first real date and Austin had accepted that he would always feel like that clumsy school girl when he was with Mika. He has gotten used to it to some extent, but that butterflies living in his stomach were always there. No matter if they were holding hands on their way home from practice or when they kissed. 

The half-Thai had been overjoyed when the Ice Prince kissed him the next time they saw each other after their date. He himself hadn’t known how to react. Should they hug? Should they kiss? Without question Austin would have voted for the last option, but when Mika stood in front of him to pick him up from his training, the half-Korean felt this annoying uncertainty in him. Was it ok to kiss Mika in front of all those people? Practically, they were dating now, but he still hadn’t have any idea how his friend felt about him. Also, they hadn’t had the opportunity to discuss whether to show their, well… it wasn’t a real relationship, but… to show their bond in public. So, he had been reluctant, hadn’t known how to act when Mika came close to him. However, the latter hadn’t even hesitated. He had put his hand on the back of his head and pulled him close to place a small kiss on his lips. Nothing spectacular, nothing exciting, but for Austin it had meant everything. 

It had been a sign for him that Mika felt the same way as he did. That he wanted to kiss him, that he wanted to be close to him, and not to forget that he didn’t care about what others might think or say. Austin had always admired the Ice Prince’s determination, but then, it had nearly made him melt. Too busy still feeling Mika’s lips on his and calming down his fast beating heart, he had just smiled happily at his friend who had returned the smile and dragged him away from the rink. He first had become aware of the squeals some girls that were watching his training let out, when Mika had looked at him apologizing. “I’m sorry. I hope they won’t make a fuss about it.” Austin had stopped confused until he had heard the noises from inside the rink. Then, he had turned towards his friend. “It’ll be alright. But never again excuse yourself for something like this. Instead, you could repeat it.” Mika had smiled and bend down to kiss him again. 

But they did not only start to kiss in public. They had also been out two more times and both had been absolutely beautiful. The second time, it had been Austin asking Mika out to have coffee and cake in a small café where they sold the cutest little pastries and cupcakes. At first, he had been embarrassed to propose something so clichéd, but the Ice Prince had just laughed and said that he loved to go there. Because both of them hadn’t have a lot of time due to their practice, they have met on an unusually warm afternoon. Sadly, they weren’t allowed to eat a lot, because of their diet plans, but they had decided to share a honey-pear-pie. And after they had drunk up their warming teas, they had strolled around the city until Mika had to head to ballet practice. 

 

The third time, the Russian had asked Austin to go to the cinema. The movie had been nice. Nothing too extraordinary, just a light rom-com. But it wasn’t the story that the half-Korean had liked about that evening. It had been Mika’s hand that was either caressing his arm or his thigh all the times that he wasn’t holding his hand intertwining their fingers. When they were halfway through the movie, Austin had rested his head on his friend’s shoulder and even though his neck started to protest he hadn’t changed his position until the end, because he had wanted to feel more of Mika’s warmth and to hear his beating heart under his chest. 

 

Everything had been alright until he had received a message form Mika earlier this day. The Ice Prince had asked him if he could come over later. No smiley, no sign of the usual happy boy, just the short and plain message. They hadn’t seen each other for four days and the brown-eyed boy had been worried. Never before had he received such a message from Mika. He had been nervous all day. What if he had done something wrong? What if he had misunderstood something?

Then sometime in the early evening the bell rang. Austin’s hands were shaking so much he wasn’t sure if he would be able to open the door. However, when he saw Mika, all his worries that he could possibly have done something wrong vanished. The Ice Prince looked tired and exhausted. Without a word, Austin wrapped his arms around him tightly, holding him while noticing how strongly his friend had clenched his fingers into Austin’s hair and that his whole body was shaking. For quite a while they were standing like this until the half-Thai pulled is friend into his apartment. He told him to lay down on his bed while he prepared hot chocolate for them. Mika had once told him that his father always made hot chocolate for him when he had been in a bad mood, so Austin thought that his should be just the right thing. 

When he returned to his room, the Russian had been snuggled into his pillows, but when he heard the half-Korean enter the room, he turned around and sit up at the headboard. Austin handed him the hot cup and took a seat next to him. Instantly, Mika rested his head on his shoulders, his face turned downwards. The younger skater placed his cup on his nightstand, caressed with one hand his friend’s hair and searched with the other for its counterpart. When he took the Russian’s hand to intertwine their fingers, he could feel that it was ice cold and still shaking. 

For quite some time, they were just sitting like this in silence. While Mika took a sip from time to time, Austin didn’t dare to let go off him. He had never seen the Ice Prince so fragile, so he kept on holding him close and caressing him. Then, the Russian put his cup to a side as well, wrapped his arms around the half-Thai’s neck and buried his nose in his hair. Austin knew that his friend was usually very cuddly, but now he was drowning and the other skater was the live-saving boat. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” His question was answered with a shrug. “What do you want to do?” Another shrug. Austin placed a kiss on Mika’s head. While fondling his neck he whispered into his ear. “It’s alright. You don’t have to tell me what happened and we don’t have to do anything. Just tell me if there’s anything I can do for you. I would do everything to see you smile.” The Ice Prince looked up. “Practice has been quite exhausting today. Yuri pushed me so long, I thought I’d pass out. Just...can we just stay here and watch a stupid movie or something like that?” he asked and Austin could hear that every little bit of energy had been soaked out of his body.

 

Later, Austin was stroking through Mika’s hair. The latter was snuggling on to the half-Thai while they were watching “Aristocats”. Not that Austin thought that this was a stupid movie. It was cute and cheerful and just the right thing to watch when being in a bad mood. That’s at least what he usually did. The whole movie the brown-eyed skater made sure that he was either holding Mika’s hand or caressing him and from time to time he placed small kisses on his hair. He did all this to show his friend that he was there for him and that he wanted him to relax. As the movie went on, the Ice Prince’s breathing became slower and more regular. When Austin looked down, he saw that his friend fell asleep leaning against his shoulder.

When the closing credits flickered over the screen, the Ice Prince opened his eyes again. “What time is it?” he asked. “It’s half past twelve already. But you don’t need to go home. You can stay here if you want to.” – “Hm” was the only answer he got while Mika laid down on his bed properly. Austin smiled, happy that his friend was able to sleep so he could regenerate for a bit. He took their empty cups and brought them to the kitchen. When he returned to his bedroom he nearly slipped on Mika’s t-shirt which he had thrown away blindly after taking it off to sleep. Austin sighed. His friend always did that. His room sometimes even looked like a bomb had exploded. But today the half-Korean wouldn’t scold him, so he picked it up, folded it and set it aside on to a chair where he kept his worn clothes. Then, he took off his own shirt as well and went to bed just wearing sweatpants. Before laying down, he placed another kiss on Mika’s head who seemed to have fallen asleep again. “Good night, nae wangja.” 

He laid down and closed his eyes, when suddenly Mika wrapped his arm around him and moved closer to him, so Austin’s back was touching his friend’s body. He buried his nose in the half-Korean’s hair and sighed. At first, the brown-eyed boy had been surprised, but he began to relax more and more. Just a second before he fell asleep, he heard Mika mumble something. He had to concentrate a lot, but what he understood made him wake up instantly. “I’m so happy I fell in love with you.”

 

Someway, Austin had no idea how, he had managed sleep at least for some hours. His heart had been beating so fast after hearing Mika’s confession that he thought he would die. The whole night he had been thinking about what his friend had mumbled being halfway sleeping. Was it true what he said? Did he mean it? Did he intend to confess? Did he even remember? The half-Thai knew that he was overthinking again, but his mind wouldn’t just shut up. 

When he woke up this morning, the Ice Prince still had been holding him in his arms, his warm, regular breath touching his neck. Like always when they slept in the same bed, Austin had wished that they wouldn’t have to get up. More than falling asleep in Mika’s gentle arms he loved waking up next to him – maybe even watching him a little when he was still in the land of dreams. He always looked so relaxed and happy, like he did this morning. It had been such a difference from the expression he had when he had been standing in front of Austin’s door. Remembering how defeated and empty his friend had been looking sent a light pain trough the half-Korean again and he knew he would do everything he could to always make his prince smile. 

After taking a shower and waking Mika up by kissing him on his head, Austin made his way to his small kitchen to prepare some breakfast for them. A look at his phone told him that they had still some time left, before they had to get off for practice. While toasting some bread and heating water he listened to the sound of the shower and thought about if and how he should talk to the Russian about last night. On one hand, everything was fine as it was, so why provoke something? But on the other hand, his friend would notice anyways that there was something on his mind. Still deeply in thoughts, Austin suddenly felt two arms wrapping around his neck from behind and Mika resting his head on his shoulders. “Good morning”, he whispered into the half-Thai’s ear. The latter turned around, placed his arms on the Ice Prince’s hips to pull him closer in order to kiss him. After a while, they let go of each other and he whispered as well. “Good morning.” Close enough to look each other deeply in the eyes, they got lost, drowning, dancing in the depths of each other. 

Austin loved those moments. Sometimes he wondered how it was possible that Mika’s eyes could catch him so hard, even though he knew them for a long time now. And the Russian seemed to feel the same way, because every time they managed to free themselves, his smile was brighter than the sun. Just like now, when the water boiler brought them back to present. While the half-Korean brew tea for them, he cautiously asked “How do you feel today?” He didn’t want to push Mika to say something, but the latter just smiled. “Better, thanks to you.” – “You don’t need to thank me. You know that I’m always there for you.” – “I know and that’s what I’m thankful for.” The way the Ice Prince had said his last words caused a little, even an awkward, silence between them. He had been so serious about it that Austin had no idea what to reply. However, this just seemed like the right mood to ask that one thing that had been on his mind this night. 

“Ehm…Mika…Do you…Did you mean what you said last night? Before you fell asleep?” While saying this, Austin felt stupid, just like usual. Who does remember anything being half asleep? “Well…what do you mean?” – “Ehm…you said that…that you… Argh, forget about it, it was stupid.” The half-Thai wanted to turn way, but the Russian was holding his face to keep him from looking away. “It’s bothering you, so it’s not stupid. Tell me.” Not being able to avoid Mika’s examining look, Austin’s legs started shaking. “Please, Austin. I promise I will neither laugh nor judge.” – “You…Last night, before you fell asleep next to me again, you murmured something. I’m not sure if I understood it correctly, so it might be just a misunderstanding.” – “What did I say?” – “You said that you…that you were happy that you fell in love with me.” 

Even before ending his sentence, Austin knew that his face was bright red. He wanted to avoid his friend’s gaze, but when he looked at him, the half-Korean could see that Mika’s face was burning, too. Covering his mouth with one hand, he mumbled “So I really said that out loud…” Now it was the Russian’s turn to be insecure. “Mika…If…if that was just a mistake you can just…” – “That’s the point! It wasn’t a mistake. I just…I just didn’t think I was able to tell you so early.”

As they both seemed a little shocked, they had decided to sit down on the couch. Austin had been quite happy about this, because he was sure that, if he had been forced to stand on his own legs even longer, he would have collapsed. Now they were sitting silently next to each other. Even though he was too curious and nervous what Mika meant with “so early”, the half-Thai had decided to let him talk as soon as he was ready for it. 

“You see…I said that I had no idea whether this was love what I felt for you and I really didn’t. I have always liked you. After my parents, you’re the most important person in my life. Of course, I was afraid that something would change between us, if I had developed feelings for you. However, I was sure that, because it was you, everything would be alright.  
The first night that I slept next to you after you told me that you fell in love with me, was the most nerve-wracking night I have had in a long time. I had been so happy that I was able to hold you in my arms, listen to your slow heart beat and breath. But at the same time, my heart had been beating so fast, I had been afraid that it would wake you. We have already done this so often and still, I was nervous like it was the first time. But, then you turned around, placed your hand on my chest, right above my beating heart and it slowed down that very second. I have no idea how you did that, but it caused this strange, warm feeling built up inside me and it helped me fall asleep soon.

Then, I noticed that feeling every time we met. And the closer we got, the stronger it became. From strange, it turned into welcomed and it felt like home. It filled me every time you smiled and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling, too. I have no idea, when I understood what was happening. I was just so happy. I was happy that I fell in love with you. Happy that it was you. Happy that me, returning your feelings, would make you happy.  
However, compared to you, liking me for such a long time, it felt like it was rushed, not thought-out. Although, I was…I am so sure about what I’m feeling for you, I was afraid that you might think that I’m just telling you, so that you won’t feel bad. But that’s not the case. I like you Austin. I like you a lot… I…I’m in love with you.”

Austin had no idea how to react to this. His body felt, like his organs were celebrating a huge party inside and if he opened his mouth, confetti would come out. However, he knew that he had to act, before Mika felt like what he said didn’t reach him. But it did. His whole body was shaking and even tears where building up in his eyes. With his trembling hands, he reached out for the Ice Prince and stroked through his hair. In the same motion, he pulled him closer. A millimeter before their lips touched, he leant his head at the other’s and whispered “You have no idea how happy you just made me.” Without giving the Russian the option to reply anything he kissed him. That kiss said everything that they possibly could have told each other, most importantly that they loved each other.


End file.
